RG3 and his special skill set have made the Pistol a major challenge for defenses. (AP Photo)

However one wants to describe it, the Pistol—originally developed by Nevada coach Chris Ault—has worked for the Washington Redskins. Many examples provide proof, but the 68-yard TD vs. Dallas on Thanksgiving Day reflects its effectiveness. The benefit of the Pistol is that a team can run its base offense without lining up the quarterback directly behind center. And because the quarterback is set up only 4 yards behind the center, it provides more versatility compared with the shotgun, where the quarterback receives the snap seven yards deep.

The defense must honor multiple possibilities provided by the Pistol. In a shotgun? It’s either an inside handoff or a pass, almost always the latter.

Which brings us to the touchdown. Robert Griffin III took the snap four yards deep, faked a zone read handoff to running back Alfred Morris. Cowboys safety Danny McCray stared into the backfield, unsure if a run or pass was coming, and crept up a couple of yards. By the time he figured it out, Aldrick Robinson was almost even with him 10 yards down the field. Too late. Robinson sped past, hauled in a perfect pass from Griffin and scored easily. The Redskins went on to win 38-31.

The reason McCray was uncertain? Because other times Griffin will hand off, or he’ll take the ball and run around the end, drawing the safeties into run support. The Pistol can get the safety out of position, opening big plays, as Dallas learned.

“It’s hard to tell who’s going to get the ball,” Morris said. “It’s hard to defend. You have to be disciplined, and if you’re not, you may see something and get too excited and bite on it.”

A big reason the Redskins’ offense has flourished this season—they are averaging 27.2 points per game and 6.2 yards per play—is the Pistol look. It’s not one every quarterback can run. In fact, when Kirk Cousins subbed for Griffin two weeks ago against Cleveland, the Redskins used the formation just once.

With Griffin, they operate in that set at least half the time. And make no mistake: RG3 and his special skill set—sprinter’s speed, deft ballhandling, ability to read defenses and make good, quick decisions based on his read—are why the Redskins adopted the offense and why they make it go.

Sometimes it’s a one-back look, with Morris behind Griffin. Other times, fullback Darrel Young is also in the backfield, to one side of Griffin. Sometimes, the Redskins will align players next to Griffin, with Morris behind him. They can run to either side; they can run their regular stretch zone play and inside zone. And after a read zone fake, Griffin is in good position to pull up and throw—a big part of the Redskins’ offense.

“It creates a unique scheme as far as them being able to run some of the option and dive option they use and passes off that,” Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said. “They build their regular offense around it. It’s very varied in what they do.”

“There’s nothing you can’t do out of the Pistol,” Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said.

It helps Griffin on bubble screens—by operating four yards deep, he can fake a handoff, then still get a clear pass off to the receiver. Defenses have countered by using safeties in the box or by having the linebackers sometimes focus on shooting gaps from three yards out. They try—but don’t always succeed—to funnel plays back to the inside.

There are examples every game of linebackers overpursuing or not reacting quickly enough. “It makes them freeze,” Redskins center Will Montgomery said. “The linebackers can’t fill now because they don’t know where the ball is going because I don’t (even) know where the ball is going. … Linebackers can’t cheat. If they do cheat, they’re going to be wrong.”

Even with Griffin nursing his sprained right knee, the Redskins still will use the Pistol in Sunday's division-deciding game vs. Dallas. They used it a week ago in the win at Philadelphia, though Griffin carried only once for five yards in the zone read option. The only change is how much Griffin runs: He carried seven times for 29 yards in the first meeting vs. Dallas. The bigger issue for the Cowboys in that game were the passes out of zone read option fakes, like the 68-yard strike to Robinson.

The big question for the offseason: How many teams will study and then try to use this formation? Carolina (Cam Newton) and San Francisco (Colin Kaepernick), which also have quarterbacks who can run, have already incorporated it.

Without the threat of a running quarterback in the Pistol, the offense would lose a sizeable advantage. With Griffin, the defense must account for all 11 offensive players in the running game. With Cousins, it does not.

“Everybody can sprinkle it in, but you definitely have to have the right guy to run it very much,” Kyle Shanahan said. “Teams can stop that, but it’s a good thing just to keep people off-balance.”

The Redskins expect to be studied this offseason.

“Anytime someone doesn’t face something every day, it gives you an advantage because it’s different,” Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said. “Once people see a different offense or defense have success, a lot of people will copy things. It’s the nature of the league.”